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	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:03:42 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Comment on Smith&#8217;s Wager by Flag Frenzy</title>
		<link>http://freeinquiryforum.com/2011/06/28/smiths-wager/comment-page-1/#comment-2324</link>
		<dc:creator>Flag Frenzy</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:03:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freeinquiryforum.com/?p=1177#comment-2324</guid>
		<description>Great post.  I had read about Smith&#039;s wager before, but had not thought about it in quite some time.  

I enjoy flawless logic, thanks for posting!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Great post.  I had read about Smith&#8217;s wager before, but had not thought about it in quite some time.  </p>
<p>I enjoy flawless logic, thanks for posting!</p>
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		<title>Comment on Jon Stewart Calls Out Gretchen Carlson For &#8220;Dumbing Herself Down&#8221; (VIDEO) by Jack Bethune</title>
		<link>http://freeinquiryforum.com/2009/12/09/jon-stewart-calls-out-gretchen-carlson-for-dumbing-herself-down-video/comment-page-1/#comment-2321</link>
		<dc:creator>Jack Bethune</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:12:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freeinquiryforum.com/?p=1073#comment-2321</guid>
		<description>Just wondering...  

Has anyone noticed that Gretchen Carlson and her panel co-hosts of Faux News &amp; Entertainment look and act so much like the characters on the old &quot;Kukla, Fran, &amp; Ollie Show&quot; from the 1950s ( http://kukla.tv/ )?  

Coincidence?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Just wondering&#8230;  </p>
<p>Has anyone noticed that Gretchen Carlson and her panel co-hosts of Faux News &amp; Entertainment look and act so much like the characters on the old &#8220;Kukla, Fran, &amp; Ollie Show&#8221; from the 1950s ( <a href="http://kukla.tv/" rel="nofollow">http://kukla.tv/</a> )?  </p>
<p>Coincidence?</p>
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		<title>Comment on Are humans still evolving? Absolutely, says new analysis of long-term survey of human health by Bill Murray</title>
		<link>http://freeinquiryforum.com/2009/10/21/are-humans-still-evolving-absolutely-says-new-analysis-of-long-term-survey-of-human-health/comment-page-1/#comment-2320</link>
		<dc:creator>Bill Murray</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:10:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freeinquiryforum.com/?p=1036#comment-2320</guid>
		<description>One more nail driven in the coffin of &quot;intelligent design&quot;.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One more nail driven in the coffin of &#8220;intelligent design&#8221;.</p>
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		<title>Comment on 9.12 DC TEA PARTY &#8211; MARCH FOOTAGE WITH INTERVIEWS by Jack Bethune</title>
		<link>http://freeinquiryforum.com/2009/11/13/912-dc-tea-party-march-footage-with-interviews/comment-page-1/#comment-2319</link>
		<dc:creator>Jack Bethune</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:04:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freeinquiryforum.com/?p=1057#comment-2319</guid>
		<description>Un-f**king-believable!

The American garbage can was emptied on Washington, DC, on Sept. 12th.

Rednecks, Christers, anarchists, revolutionaries, tax protesters, ignoramuses, militiamen, bat-shit crazies, and other lunatics.

Assembled from all parts of the country and revealed in this video as national idiots, propagandized and energized by the Glenn Becks, Sean Hannitys, Rush Limbaughs, and other right-wing, anti-administration rabble-rousers working for Fox News.  

What a national embarrassment.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Un-f**king-believable!</p>
<p>The American garbage can was emptied on Washington, DC, on Sept. 12th.</p>
<p>Rednecks, Christers, anarchists, revolutionaries, tax protesters, ignoramuses, militiamen, bat-shit crazies, and other lunatics.</p>
<p>Assembled from all parts of the country and revealed in this video as national idiots, propagandized and energized by the Glenn Becks, Sean Hannitys, Rush Limbaughs, and other right-wing, anti-administration rabble-rousers working for Fox News.  </p>
<p>What a national embarrassment.</p>
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		<title>Comment on Cross-Eyed: The high court looks again at religious symbols on public lands by Jack Bethune</title>
		<link>http://freeinquiryforum.com/2009/10/13/cross-eyed-the-high-court-looks-again-at-religious-symbols-on-public-lands/comment-page-1/#comment-2318</link>
		<dc:creator>Jack Bethune</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:10:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freeinquiryforum.com/?p=1021#comment-2318</guid>
		<description>If Justice Scalia would have us believe that traditional Christian symbols such as the cross do not historically and exclusively refer to Christianity, then what about other long-established symbols?  Wouldn’t they lose their familiar meaning as well? 

For example…

The pudgy Pillsbury Doughboy could giggle for ANYONE’S flour and pastry product. 

The MGM lion could roar at the start of EVERY movie.

Ronald McDonald could manically cavort for Wendy’s, Burger King, Jack-in-the-Box, and any other burger joint.  

And old Uncle Sam could be renamed and put to work as allegorical figurehead for any third-world country who wants to use him. Hey, doesn’t he stand for freedom and democracy everywhere?

Religious nutball Justice Scalia is furiously rationalizing his Christian/Catholic prejudices in this case, even if doing so crudely violates the Separation Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

It’s comforting to know that such a brilliant legal mind is tirelessly working to safeguard our Constitutional protection FROM religion.

NOT!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If Justice Scalia would have us believe that traditional Christian symbols such as the cross do not historically and exclusively refer to Christianity, then what about other long-established symbols?  Wouldn’t they lose their familiar meaning as well? </p>
<p>For example…</p>
<p>The pudgy Pillsbury Doughboy could giggle for ANYONE’S flour and pastry product. </p>
<p>The MGM lion could roar at the start of EVERY movie.</p>
<p>Ronald McDonald could manically cavort for Wendy’s, Burger King, Jack-in-the-Box, and any other burger joint.  </p>
<p>And old Uncle Sam could be renamed and put to work as allegorical figurehead for any third-world country who wants to use him. Hey, doesn’t he stand for freedom and democracy everywhere?</p>
<p>Religious nutball Justice Scalia is furiously rationalizing his Christian/Catholic prejudices in this case, even if doing so crudely violates the Separation Clause of the U.S. Constitution.</p>
<p>It’s comforting to know that such a brilliant legal mind is tirelessly working to safeguard our Constitutional protection FROM religion.</p>
<p>NOT!</p>
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		<title>Comment on God&#8217;s Checklist 2.0 by Jack Bethune</title>
		<link>http://freeinquiryforum.com/2009/09/17/gods-checklist-20/comment-page-1/#comment-2317</link>
		<dc:creator>Jack Bethune</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:38:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freeinquiryforum.com/?p=993#comment-2317</guid>
		<description>Oh, wait!  There’s another checklist item that should be added…

Be sure that ALL visible evidence -- whether scientific, literary, or physical – that contradicts your Biblical record or claim of existence shall be inadmissible in any discussion questioning your purported works or existence. 

Check!</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Oh, wait!  There’s another checklist item that should be added…</p>
<p>Be sure that ALL visible evidence &#8212; whether scientific, literary, or physical – that contradicts your Biblical record or claim of existence shall be inadmissible in any discussion questioning your purported works or existence. </p>
<p>Check!</p>
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		<title>Comment on Charles Darwin film &#8216;too controversial for religious America&#8217; by Jack Bethune</title>
		<link>http://freeinquiryforum.com/2009/09/12/charles-darwin-film-too-controversial-for-religious-america/comment-page-1/#comment-2316</link>
		<dc:creator>Jack Bethune</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:15:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freeinquiryforum.com/?p=988#comment-2316</guid>
		<description>Disturbing but not surprising. In a 1994 interview, Noam Chomsky made this dismayed observation on the superstition and religiosity that dominate American culture...

&quot;Three quarters of the American population literally believe in religious miracles. The numbers who believe in the devil, in resurrection, in God doing this and that -- it&#039;s astonishing. These numbers aren&#039;t duplicated anywhere else in the industrial world. You&#039;d have to maybe go to mosques in Iran or do a poll among old ladies in Sicily to get numbers like this. Yet this is the American population.&quot;</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Disturbing but not surprising. In a 1994 interview, Noam Chomsky made this dismayed observation on the superstition and religiosity that dominate American culture&#8230;</p>
<p>&#8220;Three quarters of the American population literally believe in religious miracles. The numbers who believe in the devil, in resurrection, in God doing this and that &#8212; it&#8217;s astonishing. These numbers aren&#8217;t duplicated anywhere else in the industrial world. You&#8217;d have to maybe go to mosques in Iran or do a poll among old ladies in Sicily to get numbers like this. Yet this is the American population.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Comment on Sedalia school district recalls evolution-themed shirts by Jack Bethune</title>
		<link>http://freeinquiryforum.com/2009/08/31/sedalia-school-district-recalls-evolution-themed-shirts/comment-page-1/#comment-2315</link>
		<dc:creator>Jack Bethune</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2009 22:49:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freeinquiryforum.com/?p=972#comment-2315</guid>
		<description>OK, so school officials and citizens of Sedalia, Missouri, have decided that not only is the theory of evolution “religious” in nature, which means it should be avoided in school displays, but also that as a concept it is controversial and repugnant, so much so that they don’t want their kids wearing T-shirts with evolutionary  motifs, however humorous.

That’s great for the rest of the U.S., but not for the kids of Sedalia.  And here’s why...

The Sedalia school system will continue to turn out scientifically crippled graduates with no fully developed knowledge of evolution, which means that they will be unfit for many careers in the sciences such as medicine, pharmacology, biology, bacteriology, anthropology, and countless others.  

Those jobs will go to the scientifically literate kids who graduate from more enlightened regions of the country. Their superior education will make them eligible for professional careers that offer a lifetime of greater income potential. 

The scientifically illiterate losers from Sedalia will settle into the trades and small-business jobs that are the traditional career paths for people with lousy educations.  Because they lack the fundamental scientific education necessary for dozens of better-paying careers.  

And that is as it should be.  Some kids will be winners.  Some will be losers. Survival of the fittest, and future success, will depend on which group of graduates is better equipped to cope with a changing and more demanding job environment. 

Think of the kids of Sedalia and their parents as unwitting participants in a gigantic social experiment in which modern evolutionary theory is being played out.  What will it be for them, success or failure?  What are the inescapable consequences of social Darwinism for the people of Sedalia too ignorant to recognize the consequences of their own crippling behavior?  

Thanks to the scientific illiteracy of Sedalia and other areas of Missouri, and the scientific ignorance produced by other school districts in the U.S., the result will be pretty much as expected.  Kids with better scientific educations will succeed in dozens of well-paying, professional careers that will forever be unavailable to the undereducated losers from school districts like Sedalia. 

Isn’t it ironic for those who reject evolution that this is how social Darwinism always works?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>OK, so school officials and citizens of Sedalia, Missouri, have decided that not only is the theory of evolution “religious” in nature, which means it should be avoided in school displays, but also that as a concept it is controversial and repugnant, so much so that they don’t want their kids wearing T-shirts with evolutionary  motifs, however humorous.</p>
<p>That’s great for the rest of the U.S., but not for the kids of Sedalia.  And here’s why&#8230;</p>
<p>The Sedalia school system will continue to turn out scientifically crippled graduates with no fully developed knowledge of evolution, which means that they will be unfit for many careers in the sciences such as medicine, pharmacology, biology, bacteriology, anthropology, and countless others.  </p>
<p>Those jobs will go to the scientifically literate kids who graduate from more enlightened regions of the country. Their superior education will make them eligible for professional careers that offer a lifetime of greater income potential. </p>
<p>The scientifically illiterate losers from Sedalia will settle into the trades and small-business jobs that are the traditional career paths for people with lousy educations.  Because they lack the fundamental scientific education necessary for dozens of better-paying careers.  </p>
<p>And that is as it should be.  Some kids will be winners.  Some will be losers. Survival of the fittest, and future success, will depend on which group of graduates is better equipped to cope with a changing and more demanding job environment. </p>
<p>Think of the kids of Sedalia and their parents as unwitting participants in a gigantic social experiment in which modern evolutionary theory is being played out.  What will it be for them, success or failure?  What are the inescapable consequences of social Darwinism for the people of Sedalia too ignorant to recognize the consequences of their own crippling behavior?  </p>
<p>Thanks to the scientific illiteracy of Sedalia and other areas of Missouri, and the scientific ignorance produced by other school districts in the U.S., the result will be pretty much as expected.  Kids with better scientific educations will succeed in dozens of well-paying, professional careers that will forever be unavailable to the undereducated losers from school districts like Sedalia. </p>
<p>Isn’t it ironic for those who reject evolution that this is how social Darwinism always works?</p>
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		<title>Comment on Daily Show &#8211; Betsy McCaughey Extended Interview by Thomas Jefferson</title>
		<link>http://freeinquiryforum.com/2009/08/22/daily-show-betsy-mccaughey-extended-interview/comment-page-1/#comment-2314</link>
		<dc:creator>Thomas Jefferson</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:48:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freeinquiryforum.com/?p=951#comment-2314</guid>
		<description>My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.</p>
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		<title>Comment on Daily Show &#8211; Betsy McCaughey Extended Interview by Jack Bethune</title>
		<link>http://freeinquiryforum.com/2009/08/22/daily-show-betsy-mccaughey-extended-interview/comment-page-1/#comment-2313</link>
		<dc:creator>Jack Bethune</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:10:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freeinquiryforum.com/?p=951#comment-2313</guid>
		<description>Frighteningly glib.

Frighteningly misinformed.

Frighteningly dangerous to any hope we might have for true insurance and healthcare reform.

This woman is an educated and attractive nutcase, whose wildly inaccurate misreadings of public policies such as the Clinton healthcare proposal have in the past dealt deathblows to much-needed reform.

Now, she&#039;s at it again, this time bent on crippling Obama&#039;s plan.  

Never a planner or advocate of anything helpful or positive. Only a hatchet-wielder for a right-wing think-tank (the Hudson Institute) hired to cripple progressive measures in voting rights, cancer care, and healthcare reform.

Conservative and Libertarian obstructionists for decades have loved her glamorously delivered but hopelessly mangled &quot;analyses&quot; and distorted criticisms of progressive reforms.  

Her biography on Wikipedia lays bare her unvarnished and well-deserved reputation as a misguided zealot with a sharp talent for obsessively distorting and misinterpreting policy proposals she and her employer oppose.   

You can read more about this regressive and destructive dingbat here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_McCaughey

The Betsy McCaughey of our time must have been whom Voltaire had in mind when he said, &quot;To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered.&quot;</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Frighteningly glib.</p>
<p>Frighteningly misinformed.</p>
<p>Frighteningly dangerous to any hope we might have for true insurance and healthcare reform.</p>
<p>This woman is an educated and attractive nutcase, whose wildly inaccurate misreadings of public policies such as the Clinton healthcare proposal have in the past dealt deathblows to much-needed reform.</p>
<p>Now, she&#8217;s at it again, this time bent on crippling Obama&#8217;s plan.  </p>
<p>Never a planner or advocate of anything helpful or positive. Only a hatchet-wielder for a right-wing think-tank (the Hudson Institute) hired to cripple progressive measures in voting rights, cancer care, and healthcare reform.</p>
<p>Conservative and Libertarian obstructionists for decades have loved her glamorously delivered but hopelessly mangled &#8220;analyses&#8221; and distorted criticisms of progressive reforms.  </p>
<p>Her biography on Wikipedia lays bare her unvarnished and well-deserved reputation as a misguided zealot with a sharp talent for obsessively distorting and misinterpreting policy proposals she and her employer oppose.   </p>
<p>You can read more about this regressive and destructive dingbat here: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_McCaughey" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_McCaughey</a></p>
<p>The Betsy McCaughey of our time must have been whom Voltaire had in mind when he said, &#8220;To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered.&#8221;</p>
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